TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] Embodiments herein relate to a first and second communication device, a control node
and methods performed therein. In particular, embodiments herein relate to enabling
device to device communication in a radio communications network.
BACKGROUND
[0002] In a typical radio communications network, communication devices, also known as wireless
terminals, mobile stations and/or user equipments (UEs), communicate via a Radio Access
Network (RAN) to one or more core networks (CN). The radio access network covers a
geographical area which is divided into cell areas, with each cell area being served
by a control node such as a base station, e.g., a radio base station (RBS), which
in some networks may also be called, for example, a "NodeB" or "eNodeB". A cell is
a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by the radio base station at
a base station site or an antenna site in case the antenna and the radio base station
are not collocated. Each cell is identified by an identity within the local radio
area, which is broadcast in the cell. Another identity identifying the cell uniquely
in the whole mobile network is also broadcasted in the cell. One base station may
have one or more cells. The base stations communicate over the air interface operating
on radio frequencies with the communication devices or user equipments within range
of the base stations.
[0003] A Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile
communication system, which evolved from the second generation (2G) Global System
for Mobile Communications (GSM). The UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN)
is essentially a RAN using wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) and/or High
Speed Packet Access (HSPA) for communication devices or user equipments. In a forum
known as the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), telecommunications suppliers
propose and agree upon standards for third generation networks, and investigate enhanced
data rate and radio capacity. In some versions of the RAN as e.g. in UMTS, several
base stations may be connected, e.g., by landlines or microwave, to a controller node,
such as a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC), which
supervises and coordinates various activities of the plural base stations connected
thereto. The RNCs are typically connected to one or more core networks.
[0004] Specifications for the Evolved Packet System (EPS) have been completed within the
3
rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and this work continues in the coming 3GPP
releases. The EPS comprises the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network
(E-UTRAN), also known as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access, and the Evolved
Packet Core (EPC), also known as System Architecture Evolution (SAE) core network.
E-UTRAN/LTE is a variant of a 3GPP radio access technology wherein the radio base
stations are directly connected to the EPC core network rather than to RNCs. In general,
in E-UTRAN/LTE the functions of a RNC are distributed between the radio base stations,
e.g. eNodeBs in LTE, and the core network. As such, the RAN of an EPS has an essentially
"flat" architecture comprising radio base stations that do not report to RNCs.
[0005] Fundamental cellular communication occurs between one or more communication devices
and a network, so that transmitted data always is routed via the base station. The
base station includes functionality that ensures that the radio resource is used as
efficiently as possible, by scheduling communication device transmissions based on
some suitable metric.
[0006] There are reasons why communication directly from one communication device to another,
i.e. without passing by a base station may be provided. Reasons could e.g. be that
the base station is not working properly, or that direct communications are needed
within a small area in an emergency situation or similar. Such direct communication
between communication devices is often referred to as Device-to-Device (D2D) communication.
In existing D2D concepts and technology components, a D2D layer may use cellular uplink
(UL) and/or downlink (DL) resources that may overlap with radio resources used for
supporting cellular traffic. The radio resources used by the D2D layer includes the
physical resource blocks (PRB) that are used for control of the D2D traffic by the
cellular base station (BS) such as an LTE eNB, the PRBs used by the D2D traffic, and
the PRBs used for neighbor, or peer, discovery by a D2D capable communication device
or user equipment.
[0007] In 3GPP D2D is called Proximity Services (ProSe); i.e. services that can be provided
by the 3GPP system based on communication devices or UEs being in proximity to each
other, i.e. receiving communication devices are within a distance from the transmitting
communication device so that they can receive the transmissions. Architectures and
reference models are described in TS 23.303 v. 12.0.0. The interface between communication
devices in ProSe is called PC5 interface. The air or radio interface between an eNB
and a communication device is called Uu interface.
D2D Data transmission procedure
[0008] The purpose of the data transmission procedure is to convey user data from one communication
device, UE-A, to another communication device, UE-B. Investigations have shown that
in order to meet the requirement on coverage, each D2D transport block needs to be
transmitted four times.
Fig. 1 shows an overall transmission procedure for D2D transmission with network (NW)-controlled
resource allocation. The transmission procedure for D2D generally follows the procedure
for legacy transmissions; the UE-A sends a scheduling request (SR) over Physical Uplink
Control Channel (PUCCH) to the eNB, the eNB sends a grant to the UE-A over Physical
Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH). For D2D the communication device, UE-A, further
sends a buffer status report (BSR) for D2D (D2D BSR) with information on, among others,
amount of data, over Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH); the eNB grants the communication
device resources for transmission by transmitting a D2D grant.
[0009] The purpose of the D2D-BSR is to inform the eNB about the amount of data the UE has
on logical channels related to D2D. Although this makes it possible to reuse the existing
BSR, it would require at least one logical channel group for D2D communication. If
the UE is also configured with legacy LTE bearers and D2D discovery, the four existing
logical channel groups may become a restriction.
[0010] For D2D the eNB could set up periodic BSRs related to the validity time of the D2D
grant for increased efficiency. It should be noted that the D2D-BSR is transmitted
on the Uu interface and not on PC5 interface.
[0011] The D2D grant should be transmitted on the PDCCH similar to legacy PUSCH grants.
The purpose of the grant is to allow the communication device to transmit data on
the ProSe physical channel. The grant also allows the eNB to control which communication
device gets to transmit when and on which radio resources. This reduces interference
and the risk for collisions. A Scheduling assignment indicating radio resources for
the D2D communication may further be informed back to the eNB over D2D physical channel
(phy).
[0012] Before the communication device UE-A can transmit a Scheduling Assignment (SA) the
UE-A needs to have a valid grant,
Fig. 2. In Fig. 2 it is shown that the communication device, UE-A, performs a request and
grant procedure with the eNB. This is followed by a scheduling assignment procedure
between the communication devices and finally transmissions (TX) of data denoted Data
1-8 TX procedures, between the communication devices are performed. The Data 1-8 TX
procedures allow for data to be sent just once, as well as to be repeated up to 7
times, thus allowing a total of 8 transmissions per cycle.
[0013] In the example in
Fig. 3 assuming a configuration allowing a total of 4 transmissions per cycle, an SA cycle
of a scheduling assignment procedure is 160 ms. In each SA cycle there are up to 4
occasions for a transmission of the SA. So, in short, every 40 ms there is an opportunity
to send an SA, a next SA occasion. By having up to 4 opportunities a communication
device may send an SA in one occasion and listen for other SAs in the same cycle.
This means that a communication device can send and receive D2D transmissions continuously,
if the transmission patterns are orthogonal i.e. transmission patterns of the D2D
transmissions do not overlap in time, i.e. are sent in a Time Division Multiplex (TDM)
fashion. The TX communication device sends an SA with control information, before
sending actual data. In coverage the control information is based on information from
a scheduling grant. Out of coverage the control information is pre-configured. The
receiving communication device only needs to listen for the SA. From the control information
in the SA the RX communication device knows on what resources to look for data. The
purpose of the Scheduling assignment is twofold.
- 1) It allows the communication device to only track the SA and perform Discontinuous
Reception (DRX) in-between.
- 2) It contains information on how to decode the data, e.g. which exact time frequency
resource has been/will be used.
[0014] The different types of D2D traffic, e.g. control plane, user plane and discovery,
impose an extra load on the radio resources that is not present in the radio communications
networks that do not support D2D communication. E.g. prior to every transmission of
data over a PC5 link, an SA needs to be transmitted with information on, e.g., radio
resources to listen to in order to be able to decode data. Hence, the D2D communication
increases the load in the radio communications network reducing the performance of
the radio communications network.
SUMMARY
[0015] An object of embodiments disclosed herein is to enable D2D communication between
communication devices in an efficient manner.
[0016] According to an aspect the object is achieved by a method performed in a first communication
device for enabling device-to-device communication between the first communication
device and a second communication device in a radio communications network. The first
communication device transmits data in a first data transmission to the second communication
device according to a first transmission pattern. The first communication device further
transmits control information with the data to the second communication device, which
control information indicates a second transmission pattern for a next data transmission
from the first communication device to the second communication device.
[0017] According to another aspect the object is achieved by a method performed in a second
communication device for enabling device-to-device communication between a first communication
device and the second communication device in a radio communications network. The
second communication device receives data in a first data transmission from the first
communication device according to a first transmission pattern. Furthermore, the second
communication device receives control information with the data from the first communication
device, which control information indicates a second transmission pattern for a next
data transmission from the first communication device to the second communication
device.
[0018] According to yet another aspect the object is achieved by a method performed in a
control node for enabling device-to-device communication between a first communication
device and a second communication device in a radio communications network. The control
node transmits a message to the first communication device, which message instructs
the first communication device to multiplex control information for a next data transmission
with data in a first data transmission.
[0019] According to yet another aspect the object is achieved by a first communication device
for enabling device-to-device communication between the first communication device
and a second communication device in a radio communications network. The first communication
device is configured to transmit data in a first data transmission to the second communication
device according to a first transmission pattern. The first communication device is
further configured to transmit control information with the data to the second communication
device, which control information indicates a second transmission pattern for a next
data transmission from the first communication device to the second communication
device.
[0020] According to still another aspect the object is achieved by a second communication
device for enabling device-to-device communication between a first communication device
and the second communication device in a radio communications network. The second
communication device is configured to receive data in a first data transmission from
the first communication device according to a first transmission pattern. The second
communication device is also configured to receive control information with the data
from the first communication device, which control information indicates a second
transmission pattern for a next data transmission from the first communication device
to the second communication device.
[0021] According to an additional aspect the object is achieved by a control node for enabling
device-to-device communication between a first communication device and a second communication
device in a radio communications network. The control node is configured to transmit
a message to the first communication device, which message instructs the first communication
device to multiplex control information for a next data transmission with data in
a first data transmission.
[0022] Embodiments herein aim at an efficient process to enable D2D communication by reducing
the overhead for D2D scheduling and/or increasing D2D scheduling reliability leading
to an improved performance of the radio communications network as the load is reduced.
For example, by multiplexing the control information, such as scheduling information,
regarding future D2D transmissions with the first data transmission the signaling
for enabling D2D communication is performed in a more efficient manner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0023] Embodiments will now be described in more detail in relation to the enclosed drawings,
in which:
Fig. 1 shows a signalling scheme for D2D communication.
Fig. 2 shows a procedure scheme for D2D communication.
Fig. 3 shows a schematic overview of a scheduling assignment cycle.
Fig. 4a shows a schematic overview depicting a radio communications network according
to embodiments herein.
Fig. 4b shows a flowchart depicting a method in a first communication device according
to embodiments herein.
Fig. 4c shows a flowchart depicting a method in a second communication device according
to embodiments herein.
Fig. 4d shows a flowchart depicting a method in a control node according to embodiments
herein.
Fig. 5 shows a signalling scheme according to some embodiments herein.
Fig. 6 shows a signalling scheme according to some embodiments herein.
Fig. 7 shows a combined flowchart and signalling scheme according to some embodiments
herein.
Fig. 8 shows block diagrams depicting a first and second communication device and
a control node according to embodiments herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] Embodiments herein relate to radio communications networks in general.
Fig. 4a is a schematic overview depicting
a radio communications network 1. The radio communications network 1 comprises one or more RANs and one or more CNs.
The radio communications network 1 may use a number of different technologies, such
as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
(WCDMA), Global System for Mobile communications/Enhanced Data rate for GSM Evolution
(GSM/EDGE), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), or Ultra Mobile
Broadband (UMB), just to mention a few possible implementations. The radio communications
network 1 is exemplified herein as an LTE network.
[0025] In the radio communications network 1,
a first communication device 10, also known as a mobile station, a wireless device, a user equipment and/or a wireless
terminal, communicates via a Radio Access Network (RAN) to one or more core networks
(CN).
[0026] The radio communications network 1 covers a geographical area which is divided into
cell areas, e.g.
a cell 11 being served by
a control node 12. The control node 12 may also be referred to as a radio base station and e.g. a NodeB,
an evolved Node B (eNB, eNode B), a base transceiver station, Access Point Base Station,
access point, base station router, a Radio Network Controller (RNC) or any other network
unit capable of communicating with a communication device within the cell 11 served
by the control node 12 depending e.g. on the radio access technology and terminology
used. The control node 12 may serve one or more cells, such as the cell 11.
[0027] A cell is a geographical area where radio coverage is provided by radio base station
equipment at a base station site or at remote locations in Remote Radio Units (RRU).
The cell definition may also incorporate frequency bands and radio access technology
used for transmissions, which means that two different cells may cover the same geographical
area but using different frequency bands. Each cell is identified by an identity within
the local radio area, which is broadcast in the cell. Another identity identifying
the cell 11 uniquely in the whole radio communications network 1 is also broadcasted
in the cell 11. The control node 12 may communicate over an air/radio interface operating
on radio frequencies with the first communication device 10 within range of the control
node 12. The first communication device 10 transmits data over the radio interface
to the control node 12 in Uplink (UL) transmissions and the control node 12 transmits
data over an air/radio interface to the first communication device 10 in Downlink
(DL) transmissions.
[0028] Furthermore
a second communication device 13 may be served in the cell 11 by the control node 12. It should be understood by the
skilled in the art that "communication device" is a non-limiting term which means
any wireless terminal, user equipment, Machine Type Communication (MTC) device, a
Device to Device (D2D) terminal, a D2D enabled device, or node e.g. Personal Digital
Assistant (PDA), laptop, mobile phone, sensor, relay, mobile tablet or even a small
base station communicating within a respective cell.
[0029] The second communication device 13 may be communicating with the first communication
device 10 directly over a D2D connection. Methods herein may be implemented in communication
devices 10,13 that perform D2D communication, as a transmitter and/or receiver. Additionally,
some embodiments may involve the control node that configures the first communication
device 10, also referred to below as transmitter, and/or the second communication
device 13, also referred to below as receiver, with certain parameters, e.g. radio
resources to use, to perform embodiments disclosed herein.
[0030] Scheduling assignments (SA) are control messages used for direct scheduling of D2D
communication. SAs are transmitted by e.g. the first communication device 10 that
intends to transmit D2D data and the SAs are received by e.g. the second communication
device 13 that is potentially interested in such data. SAs provide useful information
that may be used by the receiver such as the second communication device 13, e.g.,
to correctly decode a D2D data transmission associated to the SA. The information
provided by the SAs may for example be information on resources for data transmission,
the modulation/coding parameters, timing information, identities for the transmitter
and/or receiver, etc. Typically, but not necessarily, SAs are transmitted prior to
an actual data transmission, so that a receiver such as the second communication device
13 is able to selectively receive data based on the content of the SAs. The data transmissions
scheduled by a SA is referred to as a "transmission pattern" indicating allocated
radio resources.
[0031] A number of options are possible for a physical transmission of SAs. E.g., one or
multiple SAs may be transmitted by the first communication device 10 pointing to the
same data transmission(s). SAs may also be transmitted with a certain redundancy or
repeatedly, e.g. by use of retransmissions of the SA possibly with different coding
parameters or redundancy versions. Each SA may possibly schedule a set of data transmissions
comprising one or more Media Access Control (MAC) Protocol Data Units (PDU) encoded
into one or more layer-1 transport blocks and codewords. Such coded bits may be transmitted
over one or more layer-1 subframes and possible at multiple time instances. MAC PDU
is a message exchanged between MAC entities in the respective communication device.
[0032] Due to the characteristics of D2D signals and hardware limitations in the communication
devices, e.g., duplex constraints, partly unpredictable interference, in-band and
out of band emissions, Auto Gain Control (AGC) inaccuracy, dynamic range limitations,
receiver implementation impairments, etc., it is noted here that a receiver may occasionally
fail to detect a SA of its interest or intended for it. The likely consequence is
that the associated data transmissions are not received, with a significant impact
on the performance and communication, especially for traffic types that do not support
retransmissions, e.g., Voice over IP (VoIP) or broadcast transmissions. E.g., a typical
Block Error Rate (BLER) requirement of VoIP such as 2% BLER would imply a significantly
lower BLER on the SA, a requirement that is hardly fulfilled in a practical D2D system.
[0033] Embodiments herein are based on an observation that broadcast D2D traffic often requires
multiple consecutive scheduling occasions i.e. SAs. E.g., VoIP traffic consists of
transmission bursts that are relatively long compared to the typical periodicity of
SAs and associated data transmissions, e.g. the transmission pattern.
[0034] Embodiments herein relate to a method to improve scheduling reliability whenever
a transmission pattern, also referred to as data transmission pattern, data pattern
or D2D data pattern, is to be followed by another transmission pattern from the same
communication device.
[0035] The method actions performed in the first communication device 10 for enabling device-to-device
communication between the first communication device 10 and the second communication
device 13 in the radio communications network 1 according to some embodiments will
now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in
Fig. 4b. The actions do not have to be taken in the order stated below, but may be taken in
any suitable order. Actions performed in some embodiments are marked with dashed boxes.
[0036] Action 401. The first communication device 10 may receive a message from the control node 12,
which message instructs the first communication device 10 to multiplex the control
information for the next data transmission with data in a first data transmission.
[0037] Action 402. The first communication device 10 may transmit to the second communication device
13, a first scheduling assignment indicating the first transmission pattern.
[0038] Action 403. The first communication device 10 transmits data in the first data transmission to
the second communication device 13 according to a first transmission pattern.
[0039] Action 404. The first communication device 10 may transmit, to the second communication device
13, a second scheduling assignment indicating the second transmission pattern.
[0040] Action 405. The first communication device 10 further transmits control information with the
data to the second communication device 13. The control information indicates a second
transmission pattern for a next data transmission from the first communication device
10 to the second communication device 13. The control information may be transmitted
over a same physical channel, using same radio resources, as the data in the first
data transmission, e.g. multiplexed with one another or sent as padding if there is
no ordinary data.
[0041] In some embodiments transmitting the control information may comprise multiplexing
the control information with the data of the first data transmission. For example,
the control information may in one embodiment be multiplexed with a last packet, a
last transport block and/or a last Medium Access Control Protocol Data Unit, MAC PDU,
of the data.
[0042] Alternatively or additionally, the first communication device may implicitly transmit
or indicate the control information by using a transmission parameter when transmitting
the data to the second communication device 13, which transmission parameter maps
to the control information. In other words, the control information is in this alternative
obtained by mapping the transmission parameter to the control information e.g. according
to one or more predefined rules. For example, the transmission parameter may comprise:
a property of reference sequences used in the first transmission, e.g. a scrambling
sequence, a cyclic shift, and/or an orthogonal cover code. The communication devices
may then comprise tables mapping the transmission parameter to the control information.
Thus, the first communication device 10 may implicitly or derivably transmit the control
information.
[0043] The control information may in some embodiments indicate a reuse of at least a part
of the first transmission pattern. For example, in an embodiment where the control
information is implicitly transmitted using e.g. a cyclic shift as the transmission
parameter, the cyclic shift may be mapped to the control information that the first
transmission pattern should be reused as the second transmission pattern for the next
data transmission.
[0044] The control information may be a scheduling assignment indicating the second transmission
pattern, e.g. the second SA. The first and second transmission patterns may be indicating
allocated radio resources. This may be performed before, simultaneously or after action
404.
[0045] Hence, according to embodiments herein a D2D transmitter such as the first communication
device 10 may multiplex a first transmission pattern with a control information, which
control information may be used to receive at least one second transmission pattern.
The control information may be multiplexed in any way, e.g., control bits may be interleaved
with data bits, Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM), Time Division Multiplexing
(TDM), Code Division Multiplexing (CDM), etc., and at any layer, e.g., physical layer,
MAC layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, etc. The control information may even be
implicitly obtained from other transmission parameters. E.g., properties of reference
sequences used at least in some of the transmissions of a first transmission pattern,
such as a scrambling sequence, a cyclic shift, an orthogonal cover code, etc., may
be mapped to control information for D2D scheduling of the at least one second transmission
pattern according to one or more predefined rules. E.g., a certain cyclic shift value
may be used as an indication that the second transmission pattern reuses at least
some of the transmission parameters used in the first transmission pattern.
[0046] The control information transmission may be limited to one or more transmission instances,
e.g., one or more subframes or radio resources, belonging to the first transmission
pattern. E.g., if multiple transport blocks and/or MAC PDUs are carried by a single
transmission pattern, only a last transport block and/or MAC PDU may be multiplexed
with the control information.
[0047] In a further embodiment, the control information comprises an indication that the
second transmission pattern reuses at least some of the transmission parameters, e.g.,
Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), bandwidth, resource allocation, identities, etc.,
associated to the first transmission pattern. Such control information may comprise
a single bit or may be implicitly mapped to some layer-1 transmission parameter.
[0048] The transmitter or the first communication device 10 may or may not transmit both
SAs and multiplexed control information scheduling the same at least one second transmission
pattern.
[0049] Action 406. The first communication device 10 may then transmit additional data to the second
communication device 13 according to the second transmission pattern in the next data
transmission.
[0050] The communication between the first and second communication devices may be signals/message
using a protocol over a PC5 link, a WLAN air interface or similar e.g. over a D2D
physical channel. Control information such as first SA and second SA may be signaled
over a control channel, and the control information along with the data of the first
transmission may be transmitted over a shared or dedicated channel.
[0051] The method actions performed in the second communication device 13 for enabling device-to-device
communication between the first communication device 10 and the second communication
device 13 in the radio communications network 1 according to some embodiments will
now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in
Fig. 4c. The actions do not have to be taken in the order stated below, but may be taken in
any suitable order. Actions performed in some embodiments are marked with dashed boxes.
[0052] Action 411. The second communication device 13 may receive a first scheduling assignment from
the first communication device 10, which first scheduling assignment indicates the
first transmission pattern.
[0053] Action 412. The second communication device 13 may then configure settings for listening for
data transmissions in accordance with the received first scheduling assignment.
[0054] Action 413. The second communication device 13 receives data in the first data transmission from
the first communication device 10 according to the first transmission pattern.
[0055] Action 414. The second communication device 13 may receive, from the first communication device
10, a second scheduling assignment indicating the second transmission pattern. The
first and the second transmission patterns may indicate allocated radio resources.
[0056] Action 415. The second communication device 13 receives control information with the data from
the first communication device 10, which control information indicates the second
transmission pattern for a next data transmission from the first communication device
10 to the second communication device 13.
[0057] The control information may in some embodiments be multiplexed with the data. For
example, the control information may in one embodiment be multiplexed with a last
packet, a last transport block and/or a last Medium Access Control Protocol Data Unit,
MAC PDU, of the data.
[0058] In some embodiments, the second communication device 13 may receive the control information
by deriving the control information from the received data by determining a transmission
parameter used when transmitting the data to the second communication device 13. In
these embodiments, the transmission parameter maps to the control information, or
in other words, the control information is obtained by mapping the transmission parameter
to the control information e.g. according to one or more predefined rules. The transmission
parameter may comprise a property of reference sequences used in the first transmission,
such as a scrambling sequence, a cyclic shift, and/or an orthogonal cover code.
[0059] The control information may in some embodiments indicate a reuse of at least a part
of the first transmission pattern. In other words, the control information may indicate
that at least a part of the first transmission pattern is to be reused for the second
transmission pattern.
[0060] Additionally or alternatively, the control information may be a scheduling assignment,
e.g. a SA indicating the second transmission pattern. Thus, the receiver or the second
communication device 13 may receive the first transmission and may detect the control
information. Detection of the second transmission pattern may then be based on the
detected control information.
[0061] Action 416. The second communication device 13 may then compare the received second scheduling
assignment with the received control information. Then the second communication device
13 may perform least one of the following actions based on the comparison: -the second
communication device 13 may configure settings to listen for data transmissions in
accordance with the received second scheduling assignment and the received control
information; -the second communication device 13 may ignore the second transmission
pattern when the second transmission pattern indicated by the received control information
is inconsistent with the second transmission pattern in the received second scheduling
assignment; and the second communication device 13 may prioritize either the second
scheduling assignment or the received control information according to a pre-determined
rule. For example, a predetermined rule may state that if the second transmission
pattern indicated by the received control information is inconsistent with the second
transmission pattern in the received second scheduling assignment, the second transmission
pattern indicated by the received scheduling assignment is used, thus prioritized.
Hence, possibly, the second communication device 13 may detect also an SA, the second
SA, scheduling the second transmission pattern. If disagreement between the contents
of the second SA and the control information multiplexed with the first data pattern
is detected by the second communication device 13, different receiver behaviors may
be envisioned. In one example, the second communication device 13 attempts detection
of the second transmission pattern according to all the received control information,
both from SAs and/or the control information multiplexed with the first transmission
pattern. In another example, the second communication device 13 may ignore the second
transmission pattern if control information scheduling the second transmission pattern
is inconsistent with information in the SA. In a further example the second communication
device 13 prioritizes either the control information in the SA or the control information
multiplexed with the first transmission pattern according to a pre-determined rule.
The rule may be implementation-specific.
[0062] Action 417. The second communication device 13 may configure settings according to the received
control information for receiving the next data transmission.
[0063] Action 418. The second communication device 13 may receive additional data from the first communication
device 10 in the next data transmission according to the second transmission pattern.
[0064] With the proposed method the signaling to and from the control node 12 may be reduced.
The scheduling information e.g. the SAs, may also be made redundant for increased
reliability. Further, the radio resources made available, as transmissions of SAs
is reduced, may be used for transmitting other information.
[0065] The method actions performed in the control node 12 for enabling device-to-device
communication between the first communication device 10 and the second communication
device 13 in the radio communications network 1 according to some embodiments will
now be described with reference to a flowchart depicted in
Fig. 4d. The actions do not have to be taken in the order stated below, but may be taken in
any suitable order.
[0066] Action 421. The second communication device 13 may in some embodiments transmit a message to
the first communication device 10. The message instructs the first communication device
10 to multiplex control information for a next data transmission with data in a first
data transmission. The next data transmission is a subsequent data transmission from
the first communication device 10 to the second communication device 13 relative to
the first data transmission. The control information may indicate a second transmission
pattern from the first communication device 10 to the second communication device
13.
[0067] Thus, in an embodiment, the control node 12, e.g., a radio base station, instructs
the first communication device 10 to multiplex control information for the next data
transmission with a first data pattern according to any of the embodiments herein.
[0068] Fig. 5 is a schematic signalling scheme depicting a method in the radio communications network
1 according to an example of embodiments herein.
[0069] Action 501. The first communication device 10 transmits to the second communication device 13,
a first SA indicating a first transmission pattern e.g. of radio resources, such as
frequencies (or frequency) and time, and parameters for a data transmission. E.g.
the first SA from the first communication device 10 indicates a first transmission
pattern for the second communication device 13 to receive data on. This action corresponds
to action 402 in Fig. 4b.
[0070] Action 502. The first communication device 10 transmits to the second communication device 13,
data according to the first transmission pattern, or transmits data over radio resources
according to the first transmission pattern. This action corresponds to action 403
in Fig. 4b.
[0071] Action 503. The first communication device 10 transmits to the second communication device 13,
a last packet or one of the last packets in accordance with the first pattern. Control
information may be multiplexed into the last or one of the last packets, which control
information, in e.g. the shape of a second SA, indicates a second transmission pattern
for an upcoming or a next data transmission. Thereby the second SA does not need to
be transmitted and if transmitted provides redundancy of the control information as
the second SA and the transmitted control information may be used at the receiver
to improve the reliability by comparing the second SA and the transmitted control
information. In other words, the first communication device 10 may multiplex control
information with the first transmission pattern, which control information may be
used to receive data according to at least one second transmission pattern. This action
corresponds to action 405 in Fig. 4b.
[0072] Action 504. The first communication device 10 transmits to the second communication device 13,
additional data according to the second transmission pattern. This action corresponds
to action 406 in Fig. 4b.
[0073] Fig. 6 is a schematic signalling scheme depicting a method in the radio communications network
1 according to an example of embodiments herein.
[0074] Action 601. The first communication device 10 transmits to the second communication device 13,
a first SA indicating a first transmission pattern e.g. of radio resources, such as
frequencies (or frequency) and time, and parameters for a data transmission. E.g.
the first SA from the first communication device 10 indicates a first transmission
pattern for the second communication device 13 to receive data on. This action corresponds
to action 402 in Fig. 4b
[0075] Action 602. The first communication device 10 transmits to the second communication device 13,
data according to the first transmission pattern, or transmits data over radio resources
according to the first transmission pattern. This action corresponds to action 403
in Fig. 4b
[0076] Action 603. The first communication device 10 transmits to the second communication device 13,
a last packet or one of the last packets in accordance with the first pattern. Control
information may be multiplexed into the last or one of the last packets, which control
information, in e.g. 1 bit, indicates a second transmission pattern for an upcoming
or a next data transmission. The 1 bit may indicate reuse of one or more parameters
from the first transmission pattern. This action corresponds to action 405 in Fig.
4b. Thereby the second SA does not need to be transmitted and if transmitted provides
redundancy of the information as stated in action 503 above.
[0077] Action 604. The first communication device 10 transmits additional data to the second communication
device 13 according to the second transmission pattern.. This action corresponds to
action 406 in Fig. 4b.
[0078] Fig. 7 is a schematic combined flow chart and signalling scheme for enabling or managing
a D2D connection between the first communication device 10 and the second communication
device 13.
[0079] Action 701. The control node 12, serving the first communication device 10 and the second communication
device 13 may transmit an order or message indicating that the first communication
device 10 is to multiplex control information in a present data transmission. The
control information concerns an upcoming or next data transmission. The first communication
device 10 has also received grants etc. indicating radio resources to be used in a
D2D communication with the second communication device 13. This action corresponds
to action 421 in Fig. 4d.
[0080] Action 702. The first communication device 10 may transmit a first SA to the second communication
device 13 indicating a first transmission pattern. This action corresponds to action
402 in Fig. 4b.
[0081] Action 703. The second communication device 13 may be configured to listen for data transmissions
in accordance with the received first SA. This action corresponds to action 412 in
Fig. 4c.
[0082] Action 704. The first communication device 10 may then transmit data according to the first transmission
pattern. This action corresponds to action 403 in Fig. 4b.
[0083] Action 705. The first communication device 10 then transmits data with control information multiplexed
into the data transmission. The control information indicates a second transmission
pattern. The first and second transmission patterns may be the same, partially the
same, and/or different. This action corresponds to action 405 in Fig. 4b.
[0084] Action 706. The second communication device 13 may be reconfigured or reconfigure settings to
listen and/or detect data transmissions sent in accordance with the second transmission
pattern. This action corresponds to action 417 in Fig. 4c.
[0085] Action 707. The first communication device 10 transmits to the second communication device 13,
additional data using radio resources according to the second transmission pattern.
This action corresponds to action 406 in Fig. 4b.
[0086] Thus, the first communication device 10 may multiplex data in a first transmission
pattern with control information that may be used to receive data according to a second
transmission pattern. The control information may comprise an indication that the
second transmission pattern reuses at least some of the transmission parameters from
the first transmission pattern.
[0087] Fig. 8 is a block diagram depicting the radio base station 12, the first communication device
10 and the second communication device 13 to perform the methods herein.
[0088] Fig. 8 shows the first communication device 10 for enabling device-to-device communication
between the first communication device 10 and the second communication device 13 in
the radio communications network 1. The first communication device 10 is configured
to transmit data in a first data transmission to the second communication device 13
according to a first transmission pattern. The first communication device 10 is further
configured to transmit control information with the data to the second communication
device 13, which control information indicates a second transmission pattern for a
next data transmission from the first communication device 10 to the second communication
device 13. The control information may in some embodiments indicate a reuse of at
least a part of the first transmission pattern. In other words, the control information
may indicate that at least a part of the first transmission pattern is to be reused
for the second transmission pattern.
[0089] The first communication device 10 may further in some embodiments be configured to
transmit the control information by multiplexing the control information with the
data. The first communication device 10 may in one embodiment be configured to multiplex
the control information with a last packet, a last transport block and/or a last Medium
Access Control Protocol Data Unit, MAC PDU, of the data.
[0090] The first communication device 10 may additionally or alternatively further be configured
to implicitly or derivably transmit or indicate the control information by using a
transmission parameter when transmitting the data to the second communication device
13, which transmission parameter maps to the control information. The transmission
parameter may comprise a property of reference sequences used in the first transmission,
such as a scrambling sequence, a cyclic shift, and/or an orthogonal cover code.
[0091] The first communication device 10 may additionally be configured to receive a message
from a control node 12, which message instructs the first communication device 10
to multiplex the control information for the next data transmission with data in the
first data transmission.
[0092] The first communication device 10 may additionally be configured to transmit additional
data to the second communication device 13 according to the second transmission pattern
in the next data transmission. The first communication device 10 may also be configured
to transmit, to the second communication device 13, a first scheduling assignment
indicating the first transmission pattern. In some embodiments, the first communication
device 10 may be configured to transmit, to the second communication device 13, a
second scheduling assignment indicating the second transmission pattern. The control
information may be a scheduling assignment indicating the second transmission pattern,
and the first and second transmission patterns may be indicating allocated radio resources.
[0093] The first communication device 10 may comprise
a receiving module 801, a transmitting module 802 and/or
a generating module 803. Furthermore, the first communication device 10 may comprise processing means such
as
processing circuitry 804 e.g. one or more processors.
[0094] The first communication device 10, the receiving module 801 and/or the processing
circuitry 804 may be configured to receive scheduling information from the control
node 12 and/or an indication indicating that control information or scheduling information
for an upcoming or next data transmission is to be multiplexed into a present data
transmission over a D2D connection. For example, the receiving module 801 and/or the
processing circuitry 804 may be configured to receive a message from the control node
12, which message instructs the first communication device 10 to multiplex the control
information for the next data transmission with data in the first data transmission.
[0095] The first communication device 10, the transmitting module 802, and/or processing
circuitry 804 may be configured to transmit data multiplexed with control information
to the second communication device 13 over a D2D connection. The control information
may be referred to as scheduling information, and indicates radio resources according
to a second transmission pattern. The transmitting module 802, and/or processing circuitry
804 may be configured to transmit data in a first data transmission to the second
communication device 13 according to a first transmission pattern; and to transmit
control information with the data to the second communication device 13,. The control
information indicates a second transmission pattern for a next data transmission from
the first communication device 10 to the second communication device 13. The transmitting
module 802, and/or processing circuitry 804 may in some embodiments be configured
to transmit the control information by multiplexing the control information with the
data. E.g. the transmitting module 802, and/or processing circuitry 804 may be configured
to multiplex the control information with a last packet, a last transport block and/or
a last MAC PDU of the data. In embodiments herein the transmitting module 802, and/or
processing circuitry 804 may be configured to implicitly transmit or indicate the
control information by using a transmission parameter when transmitting the data to
the second communication device 13, which transmission parameter maps to the control
information. The transmission parameter may comprise a property of reference sequences
used in the first transmission, such as a scrambling sequence, a cyclic shift, and/or
an orthogonal cover code.
[0096] The transmitting module 802, and/or processing circuitry 804 may be configured to
transmit additional data to the second communication device 13 according to the second
transmission pattern in the next data transmission. The transmitting module 802, and/or
processing circuitry 804 may be configured to transmit, to the second communication
device 13, a first scheduling assignment indicating the first transmission pattern.
The transmitting module 802, and/or processing circuitry 804 may in some embodiments
be configured to transmit, to the second communication device 13, a second scheduling
assignment indicating the second transmission pattern.
[0097] The control information may indicate a reuse of at least a part of the first transmission
pattern for the second transmission pattern. The control information may be a scheduling
assignment indicating the second transmission pattern. The first and second transmission
patterns may be indicating allocated radio resources.
[0098] The first communication device 10, the generating module 803, and/or processing means
804 may be configured to generate a SA indicating the first transmission pattern.
The first communication device 10, the generating module 803, and/or processing means
804 may further be configured to generate data multiplexed with the control information.
[0099] The first communication device 10 further comprises
a memory 805. The memory comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as mappings
between transmission parameters and control information, control information, transmission
patterns, applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when being executed,
and similar.
[0100] Furthermore, Fig. 8 shows the second communication device 13 for enabling device-to-device
communication between the first communication device 10 and the second communication
device 13 in the radio communications network 1. The second communication device 12
is configured to receive data in a first data transmission from the first communication
device 10 according to a first transmission pattern. The second communication device
12 is further configured to receive control information with the data from the first
communication device 10, which control information indicates a second transmission
pattern for a next data transmission from the first communication device 10 to the
second communication device 13. The second communication device 12 may further be
configured to receive the control information multiplexed with the data. In one embodiment,
the second communication device 12 may be configured to receive the control information
multiplexed with the data such that the control information is multiplexed with a
last packet, a last transport block and/or a last MAC PDU of the data. In some embodiments,
the second communication device 12 may be configured to derive the control information
from the received data by determining a transmission parameter used when transmitting
the data to the second communication device 13. In these embodiments, the transmission
parameter maps to the control information, or in other words, the control information
is obtained by mapping the transmission parameter to the control information e.g.
according to one or more predefined rules. For example, the mapping may be obtained
from a table lookup or and indexed list or similar. The transmission parameter may
comprise a property of reference sequences used in the first transmission, such as
a scrambling sequence, a cyclic shift, and/or an orthogonal cover code. In some embodiments,
the control information may indicate a reuse of at least a part of the first transmission
pattern for the second transmission pattern. The second communication device 12 may
be adapted or configured to configure settings according to the received control information
for receiving the next data transmission.
[0101] In addition the second communication device 12 may be configured to receive a first
scheduling assignment from the first communication device 10, which first scheduling
assignment indicates the first transmission pattern. Then, the second communication
device 12 may be configured to configure settings for listening for data transmissions
in accordance with the received first scheduling assignment. The second communication
device 12 may be configured to receive additional data from the first communication
device 10 in the next data transmission according to the second transmission pattern.
The second communication device 12 may in some embodiments further be configured to
receive, from the first communication device 10, a second scheduling assignment indicating
the second transmission pattern.Then, the second communication device 12 may further
be configured to compare the received second scheduling assignment with the received
control information. The second communication device 12 may then be configured to
perform at least one of the following actions based on the comparison: the second
communication device 12 may be configured to configure settings to listen for data
transmissions in accordance with the received second scheduling assignment and the
received control information; the second communication device 12 may be configured
to ignore the second transmission pattern when the second transmission pattern indicated
by the received control information is inconsistent with the second transmission pattern
in the received second scheduling assignment; and the second communication device
12 may be configured to prioritize either the second scheduling assignment or the
received control information according to a pre-determined rule. The control information
may be a scheduling assignment indicating the second transmission pattern. The first
and second transmission patterns may be indicating allocated radio resources.
[0102] The second communication device 13 may comprise
a receiving module 901, a configuring module 902, and/or
a comparing module 903. Furthermore, the first communication device 10 may comprise processing means such
as
processing circuitry 904 e.g. one or more processors.
[0103] The second communication device 13, the receiving module 901 and/or the processing
circuitry 904 may be configured to receive an SA, data transmitted over the first
transmission pattern and/or control information transmitted with the data transmitted
in accordance with the first transmission pattern. The control information indicates
the second transmission pattern. For example, the receiving module 901 and/or the
processing circuitry 904 may be configured to receive data in a first data transmission
from the first communication device 10 according to a first transmission pattern.
The receiving module 901 and/or the processing circuitry 904 may further be configured
to receive control information with the data from the first communication device 10,
which control information indicates a second transmission pattern for a next data
transmission from the first communication device 10 to the second communication device
13. The receiving module 901 and/or the processing circuitry 904 may in one embodiment
further be configured to receive the control information multiplexed with the data.
The receiving module 901 and/or the processing circuitry 904 may further be configured
to receive the control information multiplexed with the data such that the control
information is multiplexed with a last packet, a last transport block and/or a last
MAC PDU of the data. In some embodiments the receiving module 901 and/or the processing
circuitry 904 may further be configured to derive the control information from the
received data by determining a transmission parameter used when transmitting the data
to the second communication device 13, which transmission parameter maps to the control
information. The transmission parameter may comprise a property of reference sequences
used in the first transmission, such as a scrambling sequence, a cyclic shift, and/or
an orthogonal cover code. The control information may indicate a reuse of at least
a part of the first transmission pattern for the second transmission pattern.
[0104] The second communication device 13, the configuring module 902 and/or the processing
circuitry 904 may be configured to listen/detect data transmissions according to the
first transmission pattern and/or the second transmission pattern. E.g. the configuring
module 902 and/or the processing circuitry 904 may be adapted or configured to configure
settings according to the received control information for receiving the next data
transmission.
[0105] The receiving module 901 and/or the processing circuitry 904 may further be configured
to receive a first scheduling assignment from the first communication device 10, which
first scheduling assignment indicates the first transmission pattern. The configuring
module 902 and/or the processing circuitry 904 may then be configured to configure
settings for listening for data transmissions in accordance with the received first
scheduling assignment.
[0106] The receiving module 901 and/or the processing circuitry 904 may further be configured
to receive additional data from the first communication device 10 in the next data
transmission according to the second transmission pattern.
[0107] The receiving module 901 and/or the processing circuitry 904 may further be configured
to receive, from the first communication device 10, a second scheduling assignment
indicating the second transmission pattern.
[0108] The comparing module 903 and/or the processing circuitry 904 may further be configured
to compare the received second scheduling assignment with the received control information;
and the second communication device 13, the configuring module 902 and/or the processing
circuitry 904 may be configured to perform at least one of the following actions based
on the comparison:
- the second communication device 13, the configuring module 902 and/or the processing
circuitry 904 may be configured to configure settings to listen for data transmissions
in accordance with the received second scheduling assignment and the received control
information;
- the second communication device 13, the configuring module 902 and/or the processing
circuitry 904 may be configured to to ignore the second transmission pattern when
the second transmission pattern indicated by the received control information is inconsistent
with the second transmission pattern in the received second scheduling assignment;
and
- the second communication device 13, the configuring module 902 and/or the processing
circuitry 904 may be configured to to prioritize either the second scheduling assignment
or the received control information according to a pre-determined rule.
[0109] The control information may be a scheduling assignment indicating the second transmission
pattern. The first and second transmission patterns may be indicating allocated radio
resources.
[0110] The second communication device 13 further comprises
a memory 905. The memory comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as mappings
between transmission parameters and control information, control information, transmission
patterns, applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when being executed,
and similar.
[0111] Fig. 8 further shows the control node 12, according to some embodiments, for enabling
device-to-device communication between the first communication device 10 and the second
communication device 13 in the radio communications network 1. The control node 12
is configured to transmit a message to the first communication device 10. The message
instructs the first communication device 10 to multiplex control information for a
next data transmission with data in a first data transmission, transmitted e.g. according
to a first transmission pattern. The next data transmission is subsequent to the first
data transmission. The control information may indicate a second transmission pattern
for a next data transmission from the first communication device 10 to the second
communication device 13.
[0112] The control node 12 may comprise
a transmitting module 1001, a scheduling module 1002 and/or processing means such as
processing circuitry 1003, e.g. one or more processors.
[0113] The control node 12, the transmitting module 1001 and/or the processing circuitry
1003 may be configured to transmit scheduling information for D2D communication, an
indication indicating that control information is to be multiplexed with a data transmission
between communication devices in a D2D connection, and similar. The transmitting module
1001 and/or the processing circuitry 1003 may be configured to transmit the message
to the first communication device 10, which message instructs the first communication
device 10 to multiplex control information for a next transmission with data in a
first data transmission. The control information may indicate a second transmission
pattern for the next data transmission from the first communication device 10 to the
second communication device 13. The next data transmission is subsequent to the first
data transmission.
[0114] The control node 12, the scheduling module 1002 and/or the processing circuitry 1003
may be configured to schedule radio resources for D2D communication or similar.
[0115] The radio base station 12 may comprise
a memory 1004. The memory comprises one or more units to be used to store data on, such as mappings
between transmission parameters and control information, control information, transmission
patterns, instructions, applications to perform the methods disclosed herein when
being executed, and similar.
[0116] The embodiments herein for enabling D2D communication may be implemented through
processing means e.g. one or more processors, together with computer program code
for performing the functions and/or method actions of the embodiments herein. The
program code mentioned may also be provided as a computer program product, for instance
in the form of a data carrier carrying computer program code for performing embodiments
herein when being loaded into the communication devices or control node. One such
carrier may be in the form of a CD ROM disc. It is however feasible with other data
carriers such as a memory stick. The computer program code may furthermore be provided
as pure program code on a server and downloaded to the communication devices or control
node.
[0117] The methods according to the embodiments described herein may be respectively implemented
by means of e.g.
a computer program 1101 or a computer program product, comprising instructions, i.e., software code portions,
which, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to
carry out the actions described herein, as performed by the communication devices
or the control node. The computer program 1101 may be stored on
a computer-readable storage medium 1102, e.g. a disc or similar. The computer-readable storage medium 1102, having stored
thereon the computer program1101, may comprise the instructions which, when executed
on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to carry out the actions
described herein, as performed by the communication devices or control node. In some
embodiments, the computer-readable storage medium 1102 may be a non-transitory computer-readable
storage medium.
[0118] As will be readily understood by those familiar with communications design, that
functions means or modules may be implemented using digital logic and/or one or more
microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other digital hardware. In some embodiments,
several or all of the various functions may be implemented together, such as in a
single application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or in two or more separate
devices with appropriate hardware and/or software interfaces between them. Several
of the functions may be implemented on a processor shared with other functional components
of a communication device and/or control node, for example.
[0119] Alternatively, several of the functional elements of the processing means discussed
may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware, while others are provided with
hardware for executing software, in association with the appropriate software or firmware.
Thus, the term "processor" or "controller" as used herein does not exclusively refer
to hardware capable of executing software and may implicitly include, without limitation,
digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, read-only memory (ROM) for storing software,
random-access memory for storing software and/or program or application data, and
non-volatile memory. Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included.
Designers of communications receivers will appreciate the cost, performance, and maintenance
tradeoffs inherent in these design choices.
[0120] It will be appreciated that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings
represent non-limiting examples of the methods and apparatus taught herein. As such,
the inventive apparatus and techniques taught herein are not limited by the foregoing
description and accompanying drawings. Instead, the embodiments herein are limited
only by the following claims and their legal equivalents.
[0121] Also described herein are the following embodiments:
- 1. A method performed in a firstcommunication device (10) for enabling device- to-device
communication between the first communication device (10) and a second communication
device (13) in a radio communications network (1); the method comprising:
transmitting (403) data in a first data transmission to the second communication device (13) according
to a first transmission pattern; and transmitting (405) control information with the data to the second
communication device (13), which control information indicates a second transmission
pattern for a next data transmission from the first communication device (10) to the
second communication device (13).
- 2. A method according to embodiment 1, wherein the transmitting (405) control information comprises multiplexing the control information with the
data.
- 3. A method according to any one of embodiments 1 or 2, wherein the control information
is multiplexed with a last packet, a last transport block and/or a last Medium Access
Control Protocol Data Unit, MAC POU, of the data.
- 4. A method according to embodiment 1, wherein the transmitting (405) the control information comprises implicitly transmitting the control information
by using a transmission parameter when transmitting the data to the second communication
device (13), which transmission parameter maps to thecontrol
information.
- 5. A method according to embodiment 4, wherein the transmission parameter comprises
a property of reference sequences used in the first transmission.
- 6. A method according to any one of embodiments 1-5, wherein the control information
indicates a reuse of at least a part of the first transmission pattern.
- 7. A method according to any one of embodiments 1-6, further comprising receiving (401) a message from a control node (12), which message instructs the first communication
device (10) to multiplex the control information for the next data transmission with
data in the first data transmission.
- 8. A method according to any one of embodiments 1-7, further comprising transmitting (406) additional data to the second communication device (13) according to the second
transmission pattern in the next data transmission.
- 9. A method according to any one of embodiments 1-8, further comprising transmitting (402) to the second communication device (13), a first scheduling assignment indicating
the first transmission pattern.
- 10. A method according to any one of embodiments 1-9, further comprising transmitting (404) to the second communication device (13), a second scheduling assignment indicating
the second transmission pattern.
- 11. A method according to any one of embodiments 1-10, wherein the control information
is a scheduling assignment indicating the second transmission pattern.
- 12. A method according to any one of embodiments 1-11, wherein the first and second
transmission patterns indicate allocated radioresources.
- 13. A method performed in a second communication device (13) for enabling device-to-device
communication between a first communication device (10) and the second communication
device (13) in a radio communications network (1); the method comprising:
receiving (413) data in a first data transmission from the first communication device (10)
according to a first transmission pattern; and
receiving (415) control information with the data from the first communication device (10),
which control information indicates a second transmission pattern for a next data
transmission from the first communication device (10) to the second communication
device (13).
- 14. A method according to embodiment 13, wherein the control information ismultiplexed
with the data.
- 15. A method according to any one of embodiments 13 or 14, wherein the control information
is multiplexed with a last packet, a last transport block and/or a last Medium Access
Control Protocol Data Unit, MAC POU, of the data.
- 16. A method according to embodiment 13, wherein the receiving (415) the control information comprises deriving the control information from the
received data by determining a transmission parameter used when transmitting the data
to the second communication device (13), which transmission parameter maps to the
control information.
- 17. A method according embodiment 16, wherein the transmission parameter comprises
a property of reference sequences used in the first transmission.
- 18. A method according to any one of embodiments 13-17, wherein the control information
indicates a reuse of at least a part of the firsttransmission pattern.
- 19. A method according to any one of embodiments 13-18, further comprising configuring (417) settings according to the received control information for receiving the next
data transmission.
- 20. A method according to any one of embodiments 13-19, further comprising receiving (411) a first scheduling assignment from the first communication device (10), which
first scheduling assignment indicates the first transmission pattern; and configuring (412) settings for listening for data transmissions in accordance with the received
first scheduling assignment.
- 21. A method according to any one of embodiments 13-20, further comprising receiving (418) additional data from the first communication device (10) in the next data transmission
according to the second transmission pattern.
- 22. A method according to any one of embodiments 13-21, further comprising receiving (414), from the first communication device (10), a second scheduling assignment indicating
the second transmission pattern.
- 23. A method according to embodiment 22, further comprising comparing (416) the received second scheduling assignment with the received control information;
and performing at least one of the following actions based on the comparison: configuring settings to listen for data transmissions in accordance with the received second
scheduling assignment and the received
control information; ignoring the second transmission pattern when the second transmission pattern indicated by
the received control information is inconsistent with the second transmission pattern
in the received second scheduling assignment; and prioritizing either the second scheduling assignment or the received control information according
to a pre-determined
rule.
- 24. A method according to any one of embodiments 13-23, wherein the control information
is a scheduling assignment indicating the second transmission pattern.
- 25. A method according to any one of embodiments 13-24, wherein the first and second
transmission patterns indicate allocated radio resources.
- 26. A method performed in a control node (12) for enabling device-to-device communication
between a first communication device (10) and a second communication device (13) in
a radio communications network (1); the method comprising transmitting (421) a message to the first communication device (10), which message instructs the
first communication device (10) to multiplex control information for a next data transmission
with data in a first data transmission.
- 27. A first communication device (10) for enabling device-to-device communication
between the first communication device (10) and a second communication device (13)
in a radio communications network (1); wherein the first
communication device (10) is configured to:
transmit data in a first data transmission to the second communication device (13)
according to a first transmission pattern; and to
transmit control information with the data to the second communication device (13),
which control information indicates a second transmission pattern
for a next data transmission from the first communication device (10) to the second
communication device (13).
- 28. A first communication device (10) according to embodiment 27, the first communication
device (10) being further configured to transmit thecontrol information by multiplexing
the control information with the data.
- 29. A first communication device (10) according to any one of embodiments 27 or 28,
the first communication device (10) being further configured to multiplex thecontrol
information with a last packet, a last transport block and/or a last Medium Access
Control Protocol Data Unit, MAC POU, of the data.
- 30. A first communication device (10) according to embodiment 27, the first communication
device (10) being further configured to implicitly transmit the control information
by using a transmission parameter when transmitting the data to the second communication
device (13), whichtransmission parameter maps to the control information.
- 31. A first communication device (10) according to embodiment 30, wherein the transmission
parameter comprises a property of reference sequences used in the first transmission.
- 32. A first communication device (10) according to any one of embodiments 27-31,
wherein the control information indicates a reuse of at least a part of the first
transmission pattern.
- 33. A first communication device (10) according to any one of embodiments 27-32, the
first communication device (10) being further configured to receive a message from
a control node (12), which message instructs the firstcommunication
device (10) to multiplex the control information for the next data transmission with
data in the first data transmission.
- 34. A first communication device (10) according to any one of embodiments 27-33, the
first communication device (10) being further configured to transmit additional data
to the second communication device (13) according to the second transmission pattern
in the next data transmission.
- 35. A first communication device (10) according to any one of embodiments 27-34,the
first communication device (10) being further configured to transmit, to the second
communication device (13), a firstscheduling assignment indicating the first transmission
pattern.
- 36. A first communication device (10) according to any one of embodiments 27-35,the
first communication device (10) being further configured to transmit, to the second
communication device (13), a second schedulingassignment indicating the second transmission
pattern.
- 37. A first communication device (10) according to any one of embodiments 27-36,
wherein the control information is a scheduling assignment indicating the second transmission
pattern.
- 38. A first communication device (10) according to any one of embodiments 27-37,
wherein the first and second transmission patterns indicate allocatedradio resources.
- 39. A second communication device (13) for enabling device-to-device communication
between a first communication device (10) and the second communication device (13)
in a radio communications network (1); wherein the second communication device (12)
is configured to:
receive data in a first data transmission from the first communication device (10)
according to a first transmission pattern; and to
receive control information with the data from the first communication device (10),
which control information indicates a second transmission pattern for a next data
transmission from the first communication device (10) to the second communication
device (13).
- 40. A second communication device (13) according to embodiment 39, the second communication
device (13) being further configured to receive thecontrol information multiplexed
with the data.
- 41. A second communication device (13) according to embodiment 39, the second communication
device (13) being further configured to receive the control information multiplexed
with a last packet, a last transport block and/or last Medium Access Control Protocol
Data Unit, MAC POU, of the data.
- 42. A second communication device (13) according to embodiment 39, configured to derive
the control information from the received data by determining a transmission parameter
used when transmitting the data to the second communication device (13), which transmission
parameter maps to thecontrol
information.
- 43. A second communication device (13) according embodiment 42, wherein the transmission
parameter comprises a property of reference sequences used in the first transmission.
- 44. A second communication device (13) according to any one of embodiments 39-43,
wherein the control information indicates a reuse of at least a part of the first
transmission pattern.
- 45. A second communication device (13) according to any one ofembodiments 39-44, the
second communication device (13) being further adapted to configure settings according
to the received control information for receiving the next data transmission.
- 46. A second communication device (13) according to any one ofembodiments 39-45, the
second communication device (13) being further configured to
receive a first scheduling assignment from the first communication device (10), which
first scheduling assignment indicates the first transmission pattern; and to
configure settings for listening for data transmissions in accordance with the received
first scheduling assignment.
- 47. A second communication device (13) according to any one of embodiments 39-46,the
second communication device (13) being further configured toreceive additional data
from the first communication device (10) in the nextdata transmission according to
the second transmission pattern.
- 48. A second communication device (13) according to any one of embodiments 39-47,the
second communication device (13) being further configured to
receive, from the first communication device (10), a second scheduling assignment
indicating the second transmission pattern.
- 49. A second communication device (13) according to embodiment 48, the second communication
device (13) being further configured to:
compare the received second scheduling assignment with the received control information;
and to
perform at least one of the following actions based on the comparison: configure
settings to listen for data transmissions in accordance with the received second scheduling
assignment and the received control information; ignore the
second transmission pattern when the second transmission patter
n indicated by the received control information is inconsistent with the second transmission
pattern in the received second scheduling assignment; and
prioritize either the second scheduling assignment or the received control information
according to a pre-determined rule.
- 50. A second communication device (13) according to any one of embodiments 39-49,
wherein the control information is a scheduling assignment indicating the second transmission
pattern.
- 51. A second communication device (13) according to any one of embodiments39-50,
wherein the first and second transmission patterns indicate allocated radio resources.
- 52. A control node (12) for enabling device-to-device communication between a first
communication device (10) and a second communication device (13) in a radio communications
network (1); wherein the control node (12) isconfigured to transmit a message to the
first communication device (10), which message instructs the first communication device
(10) to multiplex control information for a next data transmission with data in a
first data transmission.
1. A method performed in a first communication device (10) for enabling device-to-device
communication between the first communication device (10) and a second communication
device (13) in a radio communications network (1), the method comprising:
transmitting (403) data in a first data transmission to the second communication device
(13) according to a first transmission pattern; and
transmitting (405) control information with the data to the second communication device
(13), which control information indicates a second transmission pattern for a next
data transmission from the first communication device (10) to the second communication
device.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein transmitting control information comprises:
multiplexing the control information with the data; or
implicitly transmitting the control information by using a transmission parameter
when transmitting the data to the second communication device, which transmission
parameter maps to the control information, preferably wherein the transmission parameter
comprises a property of reference sequences used in the first transmission.
3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising receiving (401) a message from
a control node (12), which message instructs the first communication device (10) to
multiplex the control information for the next data transmission with data in the
first data transmission.
4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting (406) additional
data to the second communication device (13) according to the second transmission
pattern in the next data transmission.
5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting (402) to the second
communication device (13), a first scheduling assignment indicating the first transmission
pattern.
6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising transmitting to the second communication
device (13), a second scheduling assignment indicating the second transmission pattern.
7. A method performed in a second communication device (13) for enabling device-to-device
communication between a first communication device (10) and the second communication
device (13) in a radio communications network; the method comprising:
receiving (413) data in a first data transmission from the first communication device
(10) according to a first transmission pattern; and
receiving (415) control information with the data from the first communication device,
which control information indicates a second transmission pattern for a next data
transmission from the first communication device (10) to the second communication
device (13).
8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the control information is multiplexed with
the data.
9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the receiving the control information comprises
deriving the control information from the received data by determining a transmission
parameter used when transmitting the data to the second communication device, which
transmission parameter maps to the control information, preferably wherein the transmission
parameter comprises a property of reference sequences used in the first transmission.
10. The method according to claim 7, further comprising configuring settings according
to the received control information for receiving the next data transmission.
11. The method according to claim 7, further comprising:
receiving (411) a first scheduling assignment from the first communication device
(10), which first scheduling assignment indicates the first transmission pattern;
and
configuring (412) settings for listening for data transmissions in accordance with
the received first scheduling assignment.
12. The method according to claim 7, further comprising receiving (418) additional data
from the first communication device (10) in the next data transmission according to
the second transmission pattern.
13. The method according to claim 7, further comprising receiving (414), from the first
communication device (10), a second scheduling assignment indicating the second transmission
pattern.
14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising:
comparing (416) the received second scheduling assignment with the received control
information; and
performing at least one of the following actions based on the comparison:
configuring settings to listen for data transmissions in accordance with the received
second scheduling assignment and the received control information;
ignoring the second transmission pattern when the second transmission pattern indicated
by the received control information is inconsistent with the second transmission pattern
in the received second scheduling assignment; and
prioritizing either the second scheduling assignment or the received control information
according to a pre-determined rule.
15. The method according to claim 1 or 7, wherein the control information is multiplexed
with a last packet, a last transport block and/or a last Medium Access Control Protocol
Data Unit, MAC PDU, of the data; indicates a reuse of at least a part of the first
transmission pattern; or wherein the control information is a scheduling assignment
indicating the second transmission pattern.
16. The method according to claim 1 or 7, wherein the first and second transmission patterns
indicate allocated radio resources.
17. A communication device for enabling device-to-device communication between the communication
device and another communication device in a radio communications network (1) wherein
communication device comprises:
a memory (805); and
a processing circuitry (804) configured to cause the communication device to perform
a method in accordance with any of claims 1-16.